A new survey ranks Apple as the world's most valuable brand, worth an estimated $153 billion, beating mainstays like Coca-Cola, BMW and Disney, as well as tech rival and the previous No. 1 company, Google.

The total list of the 100 most valuable brands increased by 17 percent year over year to $2.4 trillion. BrandZ found growth in all 13 sectors it tracks, including apparel, beer, technology, insurance and luxury.

Developed by Millward Brown Optimor, the ranking system analyzes the world's leading brands and the economic and competitive dynamics that influence value fluctuations. It focuses on market-facing brands that generate revenue and profits through the sale of goods and services directly to consumers or business customers.

The valuation establishes an estimated worth of the Apple brand, rather than Apple the company. The survey was created 13 years ago, and includes information from more than 2 million in-depth consumer interviews in 30 countries.

Apple's 84 percent year over year increase made it the fifth-largest growth story of 2010 on the brand ranking index. Apple was beaten by Facebook, which saw its estimated brand value surge 246 percent to $19 billion, giving it the greatest increase.

In that table graphic you show, that last column (percent change) has "N/A" listed for a couple of companies. That seems nonsensical. Does "N/A" have another meaning here than "not applicable"?
Presumably they meant "no change" (so: N/C).

(I presume this is a graphic you lifted from the original source, not one you made yourself. And yes, I am unable to go back and look. Tired. Fingers broken )

There is really no way Apple's achievement can be overstated. They singlehandedly, almost overnight, freed the "computer" from the box and keyboard. This was a landmark moment. Now everyone's pushing this paradigm. Tablets, slates, app stores, touch interfaces, etc.

The next 5-7 years will be a huge growth phase for Apple, during which we will witness the decline of Microsoft. Note how MS' brand now ranks below McDonalds. And McDonalds sells low grade cheeseburgers that pose serious health risks.

Nice to know a company that produces devices to enhance one's life has a better brand name than a sugar water company that causes tooth decay, a telecom company that can't hold a phone call more than a minute, or a social networking site that is a total waste of time.

I wish they had mentioned Nike so I could rail about a clothing company that makes millions of of sweat shop labor.

But good on you anyway Apple.

I could give up my Apple products way easier than give up my Coca-Cola products.

I dunno about that. If I was doing a ranking I would put it like this:

1. Google - cause way more people I've met use it, know about it, and it is a verb.
2. Apple - sure many people know about it, but those who haven't used a mac tend to dislike the company for some reason.
3. Walmart
4. Amazon
5. Verizon
6. ATT
7. Coca- Cola
100. Microsoft
500. McDonalds
10000. Marlboro

Eating a "low grade" McDonald's cheeseburger is a serious health risk? Really? With trillions sold? Why isn't everybody dropping over dead? The streets should be littered with corpses - all clinging tightly to their half eaten burgers.

At least include a smiley face or something to show that you're not trying to be serious. You aren't really trying to be serious are you?

Eating a "low grade" McDonald's cheeseburger is a serious health risk? Really? With trillions sold? Why isn't everybody dropping over dead? The streets should be littered with corpses - all clinging tightly to their half eaten burgers.

At least include a smiley face or something to show that you're not trying to be serious. You aren't really trying to be serious are you?

Eating lots of burgers will eventually kill you.

You don't see people dying after smoking one cigarette either. Are you suggesting they're not bad for your health too?

I dunno about that. If I was doing a ranking I would put it like this:

1. Google - cause way more people I've met use it, know about it, and it is a verb.
2. Apple - sure many people know about it, but those who haven't used a mac tend to dislike the company for some reason.
3. Walmart
4. Amazon
5. Verizon
6. ATT
7. Coca- Cola
100. Microsoft
500. McDonalds
10000. Marlboro

I don't think Google is valued as high because they are essentially a one-trick pony. Yes, they have Android, Gmail, etc. etc., but if their advertisers start spending their dollars on Bing or (more likely) Facebook, Google isn't looking so good then.

The people that dislike Apple tend to be either jealous that they don't have one and are trying to justify the stuff they own, are scared to change since it isn't Windows, or are big enough geeks that they would prefer to use Linux anyway (an extremely small percentage).

Walmart is the bane of all evil, but they make a lot of money. Walmart to me is a last resort, last ditch effort kind of place. If I never step foot inside one again, I will feel like I have accomplished something in my life.

Eating a "low grade" McDonald's cheeseburger is a serious health risk? Really? With trillions sold? Why isn't everybody dropping over dead? The streets should be littered with corpses - all clinging tightly to their half eaten burgers.

At least include a smiley face or something to show that you're not trying to be serious. You aren't really trying to be serious are you?

At least include a smiley face or something to show that you're not trying to be serious. You aren't really trying to be serious are you?

I dunno about that. If I was doing a ranking I would put it like this:

1. Google - cause way more people I've met use it, know about it, and it is a verb.
2. Apple - sure many people know about it, but those who haven't used a mac tend to dislike the company for some reason.
3. Walmart
4. Amazon
5. Verizon
6. ATT
7. Coca- Cola
100. Microsoft
500. McDonalds
10000. Marlboro

As someone else said, Google may be incredibly well known and used on a regular (more than regular) basis every single day, but what they do is sell advertisements. That's their business.

Apple, otoh, actually sells products that people end up with in their hands, and use. And really, with the iPad2 and the iPhone4, Apple's had a great year.

You don't see people dying after smoking one cigarette either. Are you suggesting they're not bad for your health too?

Eating too much of a single vegetable may also cause health issues... consider the possibility of vitamin-A overdose in certain vegetarian diets really high on a certain potent vegetable [possibly spinach?] (especially if multi-vitamin supplements are taken).

Better stop eating your vegetables, too I guess...

Ps. I really hope no one is eating 20 burgers a day. That would definitely be a lot, and probably would kill you.

Nice to know a company that produces devices to enhance one's life has a better brand name than a sugar water company that causes tooth decay, a telecom company that can't hold a phone call more than a minute, or a social networking site that is a total waste of time.

I wish they had mentioned Nike so I could rail about a clothing company that makes millions of of sweat shop labor.

A new survey ranks Apple as the world's most valuable brand, worth an estimated $153 billion, beating mainstays like Coca-Cola, BMW and Disney, as well as tech rival and the previous No. 1 company, Google.

The total list of the 100 most valuable brands increased by 17 percent year over year to $2.4 trillion. BrandZ found growth in all 13 sectors it tracks, including apparel, beer, technology, insurance and luxury.

Developed by Millward Brown Optimor, the ranking system analyzes the world's leading brands and the economic and competitive dynamics that influence value fluctuations. It focuses on market-facing brands that generate revenue and profits through the sale of goods and services directly to consumers or business customers.

The valuation establishes an estimated worth of the Apple brand, rather than Apple the company. The survey was created 13 years ago, and includes information from more than 2 million in-depth consumer interviews in 30 countries.

Apple's 84 percent year over year increase made it the fifth-largest growth story of 2010 on the brand ranking index. Apple was beaten by Facebook, which saw its estimated brand value surge 246 percent to $19 billion, giving it the greatest increase.

The comments on your fine article should be scrapped ... those who responded to the lousy negative comments think they are comical ... they just waste everyone time and take up space ... just like I am doing here. Sure would be nice if they actually would contribute something useful to someone else.

How does one measure "brand" anyway? Where did $153 billion come from? What's the metric used to generate these values?

I think they explained it pretty well here, from the article (of course you could just go to the survey website and read the details there):

Quote:

the ranking system analyzes the world's leading brands and the economic and competitive dynamics that influence value fluctuations. It focuses on market-facing brands that generate revenue and profits through the sale of goods and services directly to consumers or business customers.

The valuation establishes an estimated worth of the Apple brand, rather than Apple the company. The survey was created 13 years ago, and includes information from more than 2 million in-depth consumer interviews in 30 countries.

If you are going to insist on being an ass, at least demonstrate the intelligence to be a smart one

And excuse Dell, Cisco, Microsoft, Samsung, Intel and all the rest of the tech companies that have units assembled at Foxconn plants? And do you know how Foxconn compares to all the other assembly plants in China on those same stats? How about how do wages and compenstation for Foxconn employees compare to that of other workers in China.

How about doing even the least amount of checking the "facts" before regurgitating "news" and commentary items from tabloids and news sources trying to drive hits.

For example, you realize that Foxconn is the single largest private employer in China, right? They have nearly two million workers at their assembly plants. The amount of assembly they do accounts for nearly 40% of the $150B consumer electronics industry revenue.

Or that the Shenzhen SEZ has resulted in a huge upswing in wages earning for what once was poor subsistence-level rural workers. The suicides are bad without question but to repeatedly parrot uninformed news hit tripe is rather obstuse and lazy.

If you are going to insist on being an ass, at least demonstrate the intelligence to be a smart one

I have no idea how you come up with a specific dollar value for a brand, but it's clear that the high-value brands are very valuable asset to their companies. Think of a good brand as some combination of "automatic benefit of the doubt" and free advertising. Whenever Apple (and the same holds true to different degrees for other companies) comes out with a new product, those of us who love Apple stuff (and there are millions more of us than even a few years ago) will absolutely check it out and come at it with positive expecations/assumptions. That's what I mean by benefit of the doubt. I'll admit it: if unknown company X (or Microsoft, for example) had announced an identical product to Apple TV, I would have been much less likely to spend time researching it and would have been less inclined to buy one. And I would have been less likely to hear about it because company X (and even Microsoft) doesn't make the evening news and the front page of the paper every time they announce a product.

That's brand value, and it's not hard to make the case that Apple has soared to the top of the list in recent years. Google, for example, doesn't have quite the same aura. Sure all the geeks try whatever Google labs floats out there, but a) my mother-in-law or neighbor will be blissfully unaware of it, and b) Google doesn't immediately monetize that interest the way Apple does.

I dunno about that. If I was doing a ranking I would put it like this:

1. Google - cause way more people I've met use it, know about it, and it is a verb.
2. Apple - sure many people know about it, but those who haven't used a mac tend to dislike the company for some reason.
3. Walmart
4. Amazon
5. Verizon
6. ATT
7. Coca- Cola
100. Microsoft
500. McDonalds
10000. Marlboro

Walmart - American and not worldwide. Failed miserably here in Germany.
ATT & Verizon - are NOT Worldwide brands, and shouldn't be listed at all.

Q: Do you know what "world wide", "valuable", and recognized BRANDS means?

Just askin'.....

Knowing what you are talking about would help you understand why you are so wrong. By "Realistic" - AI Forum Member